Market Optimism Plummets Among Investors and Advisors

As a result — making the current environment more worrisome, according to Greenwald Research — 32% of consumers and 37% of financial professionals are more concerned about consistent small investment losses over time, compared to 18% of consumers and 27% of professionals who worry more about a single major loss.

Response to Biggest Worries

Seventy-nine percent of consumers said both a high level of inflation and an economic recession are their biggest worries, according to the survey. Global conflicts and crises were ranked third, cited by 71% of respondents.

“The optimism that followed the rapid economic recovery from the pandemic has evaporated,” Doug Kincaid, Greenwald’s managing director for financial services, said in a statement. “It’s clear that financial consumers need help navigating the current economic environment to regain confidence in the future.”

Kincaid noted that the survey findings show that consumers are engaging more closely with their advisors, and are increasingly looking to their employers to provide financial wellness resources.

Need for Advice

Survey results indicate that consumers are meeting with their advisors more frequently, both in person and virtually. Two-thirds of respondents reported they have met with their advisors at least once in person in 2022, up from 45% in 2021, and 40% had at least one virtual meeting, up from 31%.

About half of respondents want in-depth discussions about their finances once a year, and well over a third want quarterly check-ins. Perhaps more important to nearly all respondents in working with a financial professional is accessibility, most commonly seen as getting a response to an inquiry within 24 hours, according to Greenwald Research.

The employer-provided financial wellness resources respondents expressed the greatest interest in include:

Personalized financial goal setting: 55%, up from 36%
Access to free or subsidized personalized financial advice: 54%, up from 40%
Education on planning for and managing health care costs: 52%, up from 45%
Financial education with financial professionals, in person or online: 51%, up from 36%